Chapter Two

Connecting Media
and
Computer interfaces
 Introduction to Transmission Media

• The world of computer networks would not exist

if there were no medium by which to transfer
data
• The two major categories of media include:
• Conducted media
• Wireless media
• Interface between computers and media

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 2
Twisted Pair Wire

• One or more pairs of single conductor wires that

have been twisted around each other
• Twisted pair wire is classified by category. Twisted
pair is currently Category 1 through Category 7,
although Categories 1, 2 and 4 are nearly obsolete
• Twisting the wires helps to eliminate electromagnetic
interference between the two wires
• Shielding can further help to eliminate interference

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 3
 Twisted Pair Wire summary

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 4
 Twisted Pair Summary

• Most common form of wire

• Relatively inexpensive
• Easy to install
• Carries high data rates (but not the highest)
• Can suffer from electromagnetic noise
• Can be easily wire-tapped
• Comes in shielded and unshielded forms

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 5
 Coaxial Cable

• A single wire wrapped in a foam insulation surrounded by

a braided metal shield, then covered in a plastic jacket.
Cable comes in various thicknesses
• Baseband coaxial technology uses digital signaling in
which the cable carries only one channel of digital data
• Broadband coaxial technology transmits analog signals
and is capable of supporting multiple channels

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 6
 Coaxial Cable (continued)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 7
 Coaxial Cable Summary

• A single wire surrounded by a braided shield

• Because of shielding, can carry a wide
bandwidth of frequencies
• Thus is good with applications such as cable
television
• Not as easy to install as twisted pair
• More expensive than twisted pair

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 8
 Fiber-Optic Cable

• A thin glass cable approximately a little thicker

than a human hair surrounded by a plastic
coating and packaged into an insulated cable
• A photo diode or laser generates pulses of light
which travel down the fiber optic cable and are
received by a photo receptor

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 9
 Fiber-Optic Cable Summary

• Fiber optic cable can carry the highest data rate

for the longest distances
• Initial cost-wise, more expensive than twisted
pair, but less than coaxial cable
• But when you consider the superiority of fiber,
initial costs outweighed by capacities
• Need two fibers for a round-trip connection
• Not affected by electromagnetic noise and
cannot be easily wiretapped, but still noise
Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 10
 Conducted Media

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 11
 Wireless Media

• Radio, satellite transmissions, and infrared light

are all different forms of electromagnetic waves
that are used to transmit data
• Technically speaking – in wireless transmissions,
space is the medium
• Note in the following figure how each source
occupies a different set of frequencies

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 12
 Electromagnetic wave Spectrum

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 13
 Terrestrial Microwave Transmission

• Land-based, line-of-sight transmission

• Approximately 20-30 miles between towers
• Transmits data at hundreds of millions of bits per
second
• Signals will not pass through solid objects
• Popular with telephone companies and business
to business transmissions

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 14
 Terrestrial Microwave Transmission
(continued)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 15
 Satellite Microwave Transmission

• Similar to terrestrial microwave except the signal

travels from a ground station on earth to a
satellite and back to another ground station
• Can also transmit signals from one satellite to
another
• Satellites can be classified by how far out into
orbit each one is (LEO, MEO, GEO, and HEO)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 16
 Satellite Microwave Transmission
(continued)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 17
 Satellite Microwave Transmission
(continued)
• LEO (Low-Earth-Orbit) – 100 to 1000 miles out
– Used for wireless e-mail, special mobile telephones, pagers,
spying, videoconferencing
• MEO (Middle-Earth-Orbit) – 1000 to 22,300 miles
– Used for GPS (global positioning systems) and government
• GEO (Geosynchronous-Earth-Orbit) – 22,300 miles
– Always over the same position on earth (and always over the
equator)
– Used for weather, television, government operations
• HEO (Highly Elliptical Earth orbit) – satellite follows an
elliptical orbit
• Used by the military for spying and by scientific
organizations for photographing celestial bodies
Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 18
 Satellite Microwave Transmission
(continued)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 19
Satellite, Radar, Radio Bands
 Geo Stationary Satellites

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 21
 Overview of MEO LEO communications
Iridium Globalstar ICO Teledesic
# satellites 66 + 6 48 + 4 10 + 2 288
altitude 780 1414 10390 ca. 700
(km)
coverage global 70° latitude global global
min. 8° 20° 20° 40°
elevation
frequencies 1.6 MS 1.6 MS  2 MS  19 
[GHz 29.2  2.5 MS  2.2 MS  28.8 
(circa)] 19.5  5.1  5.2  62 ISL
23.3 ISL 6.9  7
access FDMA/TDMA CDMA FDMA/TDMA FDMA/TDMA
method
ISL yes no no yes
bit rate 2.4 kbit/s 9.6 kbit/s 4.8 kbit/s 64 Mbit/s 
2/64 Mbit/s 
# channels 4000 2700 4500 2500
Lifetime 5-8 7.5 12 10
[years]
cost 4.4 B$ 2.9 B$ 4.5 B$ 9 B$
estimation

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 22
 Cellular Telephones

• Wireless telephone service, also called mobile

telephone, cell phone, and PCS (personal
communications service)
• To support multiple users in a metropolitan area
(market), the market is broken into cells
• Each cell has its own transmission tower and set
of assignable channels

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 23
 Cellular Telephones (continued)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 24
 Cellular Telephones (continued)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 25
 Cellular Telephones (continued)

• 1st Generation
– AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service) – first
popular cell phone service; used analog signals
and dynamically assigned channels
– D-AMPS (Digital AMPS) – applied digital
multiplexing techniques on top of AMPS analog
channels

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 26
 Cellular Telephones (continued)

• 2nd Generation
– PCS (Personal Communication Systems) –
essentially all-digital cell phone service
– PCS phones came in three technologies:
• TDMA – Time Division Multiple Access
• CDMA – Code Division Multiple Access
• GSM – Global System for Mobile Communications

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 27
 Cellular Telephones (continued)

• 2.5 Generation
– AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, and T-Mobile
now using GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)
in their GSM networks (can transmit data at 30
kbps to 40 kbps)
– Verizon Wireless, Alltel, U.S.Cellular, and Sprint
PCS are using CDMA2000 1xRTT (one carrier
radio- transmission technology) (50 kbps to 75
kbps)
– Nextel (Sprint, ptt phone) uses IDEN (integrated
digital enhanced network) technology

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 28
 Cellular Telephones (continued)

• 3rd Generation
– UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications
System) – also called Wideband CDMA
• The 3G version of GPRS
• UMTS not backward compatible with GSM (thus
requires phones with multiple decoders)
– 1XEV (1 x Enhanced Version) –3G replacement
for 1xRTT
• two forms:
– 1xEV-DO for data only
– 1xEV-DV for data and voice

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 29
 Cellular Telephones (continued)

• 4th Generation
– LTE (Long Term Evolution) – theoretical speeds
of 100 Mbps or more, actual download speeds
10-15 Mbps (Verizon currently has LTE)
– WiMax – introduced in a couple slides –
theoretical speeds of 128 Mbps; actual download
speeds 4 Mbps (Sprint and Clearwire)
– HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) – 14 Mbps
downlink, 5.8 Mbps uplink; is this 3.5G or 4G?
– HSPA+ – theoretical downlink of 84 Mbps, 22
Mbps uplink (T-Mobile) 3.5G or 4G?
Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 30
 5G
• 5G is to be a new technology that will provide all the possible applications,
by using only one universal device, and interconnecting most of the
already existing communication infrastructures.
• The 5G terminals will be a reconfigurable multimode and cognitive radio-
enabled.
• It will have software defined radio modulation schemes. All the required
reconfigurable software should be downloaded from the Internet on the
run.
• The 5G mobile networks will focus on the development of the user
terminals where the terminals will have access to different wireless
technologies at the same time and will combine different flows from
different technologies.
• Besides, the terminal will make the final choice among different
wireless/mobile access network providers for a given service.
• The 5G core is to be a Re-configurable, Multi-Technology Core.
• The core could be a convergence of new technologies such as
nanotechnology, cloud Computing and cognitive Radio, Artificial
31
Intelligence and based on All IP Platform.
 Evolution

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 32
 Infrared Transmissions

• Transmissions that use a focused ray of light in

the infrared frequency range
• Very common with remote control devices, but
can also be used for device-to-device transfers,
such as PDA to computer

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 33
 WiMax - Broadband Wireless Systems

• Delivers Internet services into homes,

businesses and mobile devices
• Designed to bypass the local loop telephone line
• Transmits voice, data, and video over high
frequency radio signals
• Maximum range of 20-30 miles and transmission
speeds 30-40 Mbps upto 1 Gbps (2011)
• IEEE 802.16 set of standards
• 4G Candidate
Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 34
 WiMax (continued)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 35
 Bluetooth

• Bluetooth is a specification for short-range,

point-to-point or point-to-multipoint voice and
data transfer
• Bluetooth can transmit through solid, non-metal
objects
• Its typical link range is from 10 cm to 10 m, but
can be extended to 100 m by increasing the
power
• Speed 25 Mbps (4.0)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 36
 Bluetooth (continued)

• Bluetooth will enable users to connect to a wide

range of computing and telecommunication
devices without the need of connecting cables
• Typical uses include phones, pagers, modems,
LAN access devices, headsets, notebooks,
desktop computers, and PDAs

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 37
 Wireless Local Area Networks
(IEEE 802.11)
• This technology transmits data between
workstations and local area networks using high-
speed radio frequencies
• Current technologies allow up to 100 Mbps
(theoretical) data transfer at distances up to
hundreds of feet
• Popular standards: IEEE 802.11b, a, g, n, ac
• More on this in Chapter Seven (LANs)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 38
 Free Space Optics and Ultra-Wideband

• Free space optics (FSO)

– Uses lasers, or more economically, infrared
transmitting devices
– Line of sight between buildings
– Typically short distances, such as across the
street
– Newer auto-tracking systems keep lasers aligned
when buildings shake from wind and traffic

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 39
 Free Space Optics and
Ultra-Wideband (continued)
• Free space optics (continued)
– Current speeds go from T-3 (45 Mbps) to OC-48
(2.5 Gbps) with faster systems in development
– Major weakness is transmission thru fog
– A typical FSO has a link margin of about 20 dB
– Under perfect conditions, air reduces a system’s
power by approximately 1 dB/km
– Scintillation is also a problem (especially in hot
weather)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 40
 Free Space Optics and
Ultra-Wideband (continued)
• Ultra-wideband
– UWB not limited to a fixed bandwidth but
broadcasts over a wide range of frequencies
simultaneously
– Many of these frequencies are used by other
sources, but UWB uses such low power that it
“should not” interfere with these other sources
– Can achieve speeds up to 100 Mbps but for small
distances such as wireless LANs

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 41
 Free Space Optics and
Ultra-Wideband (continued)
• Ultra-wideband (continued)
– Proponents for UWB say it gets something for
nothing, since it shares frequencies with other
sources. Opponents disagree
– Cell phone industry against UWB because CDMA
most susceptible to interference of UWB
– GPS may also be affected
– One solution may be to have two types of
systems – one for indoors (stronger) and one for
outdoors (1/10 the power)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 42
 UWB Spectrum

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 43
 ZigBee

• Based upon IEEE 802.15.4 standard

• Used for low data transfer rates (20-250 Kbps)
• Also uses low power consumption
• Ideal for heating, cooling, security, lighting, and
smoke and CO detector systems
• ZigBee can use a mesh design – a ZigBee-
enabled device can both accept and then pass
on ZigBee signals

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 44
 Wireless Media (continued)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 45
 Wireless Media (continued)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 46
 Media Selection Criteria

• Cost: initial, maintenance, ROI

• Speed: propagation, data rate
• Right of way (esp. wired)
• Distance and expandability
• Environment: noises
• Security: threat and vulnerability

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 47
 COMPUTER INTERFACES

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition
Basic Concepts of Computer Hardware

Input/ Memory
Output
Units

CPU
Storage
(Central Processing Unit)
Units

Peripheral Computer
devices
Interfaces:
Cards,
cable/media

The Computer Continuum 3-49

 Peripherals

Peripherals are any device that can be attached

to aComputer, e.g. hard disk, mouse, printer.
Peripherals are generally slow. They hold up the
CPU from carrying out its’ tasks.
For example - playing a game and it needs to
load the next level. The level is being read
from the CD and written to memory.
 Examples Peripherals

I/O: hardisk, CD/DVD(RW), SSD (Solid state

storage devices), flash disk, memory card
Inputs: Keyboard, mouse, Scanner
Output: CRT/monitors, projectors, printers

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 51
 What is an interface?
The interface is the combination of
hardware and software needed to link the
CPU to the peripherals and to enable them
to communicate with the CPU despite all
their differing characteristics.
The hardware is the bit you connect the cable
into e.g. USB, parallel Firewire.
The software is the driver disk that you usually need
to install when you get the device, e.g. printer
driver.
 Why different interface
Computer peripherals all have different
characteristics. For example, they may:

Have different data transfer rates;

Use a wide variety of codes and control signals;
Transmit data in serial or in parallel form;
Even work at higher voltages than the CPU;
All operate at much slower speeds than the CPU.
 Interfaces main functions
The main functions of an interface that you need to know
about are:

Buffering;

Converting data to and from serial and parallel forms;

Converting data to and from analogue and digital forms;

Voltage conversion;

Protocol conversion; &

Handling of status signals.

 Parallel or Serial
Parallel data transmission - transmit several
bits of data simultaneously across a series of
parallel channels, often transmitting 16 at 32
bits at a time. Very fast but only suitable for
short distances.

The buses internal to the processor are parallel

channels. Any data coming from a serial
device has to be sent to an interface which
buffers the data then converts it to parallel
form before it is passed to the processor.
 Parallel and Serial

Interface 0 0

1 1
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0

Serial data format 1 1

0 0

1 1

Parallel data format

 ADC and DAC
A computer is connected to a peripheral by
an interface. This interface has to be able
to change the digital signals from the
computer to an analogue signal that the
other device can understand. This is done
by a DAC – Digital to Analogue Converter.

Signals can be changed in the other

direction by an ADC – Analogue to Digital
Converter.
 Voltage Conversion

Peripherals send data using a different voltage from

that used by the processor and its associated
components on the motherboard of the computer.

An interface is used to compensate for these

differences.
 Protocol Conversion
Protocol Conversion
A protocol is a standard that enables the connection,
communication and data transfer between computers or
between a computer system and a peripheral. Protocol
conversion means ensuring that the protocols used by the
peripheral can be understood by the computer it is
attached to and vice versa.

Handling of Status Signal

The purpose of the status information is to show whether or
not a peripheral device is ready to communicate. This
information is used to inform the user of a problem
requiring attention. Some printers might run out of papers.
 What is dupplexity?
A half-duplex connection transmits data in both
directions but in only one direction at a time
A full-duplex connection transmits data in both
directions and at the same time
A simplex connection can transmit data in only one
direction

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 60
 Asynchronous Connections
A type of connection defined at the data link layer
To transmit data from sender to receiver, an
asynchronous connection creates a one-
character package called a frame
Added to the front of the frame is a start bit, while
a stop bit is added to the end of the frame
An optional parity bit can be added which can be
used to detect errors

61
 Asynchronous
Connections (continued)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 62
 Asynchronous Connections
(continued)
The term asynchronous is misleading here
because you must always maintain
synchronization between the incoming data
stream and the receiver
Asynchronous connections maintain
synchronization by using small frames with a
leading start bit

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 63
 Synchronous Connections
A second type of connection defined at the data
link layer
A synchronous connection creates a large frame
that consists of header and trailer flags, control
information, optional address information, error
detection code, and data
A synchronous connection is more elaborate but
transfers data in a more efficient manner

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 64
 Synchronous Connections
(continued)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 65
 Synchronous vs Asynchronous

A company wants to transfer files that are typically

700K chars in size
If an asynchronous connection is used, each
character will have a start bit, a stop bit, and
maybe a parity bit
700,000 chars * 11 bits/char (8 bits data + start +
stop + parity) = 7,700,000 bits

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 66
 Synchronous vs Asynchronous (continued)

If a synchronous connection is used, assume

maximum payload size – 1500 bytes
To transfer a 700K char file requires 467 1500-
character (byte) frames
Each frame will also contain 1-byte header, 1-byte
address, 1-byte control, and 2-byte checksum,
thus 5 bytes overhead

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 67
 Synchronous vs Asynchronous (continued)

1500 bytes payload + 5 byte overhead = 1505 byte

frames
467 frames * 1505 bytes/frame = 716,380 bytes, or
5,731,040 bits
Significantly less data using synchronous
connection

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 68
 Isochronous Connections
A third type of connection defined at the data link
layer used to support real-time applications
Data must be delivered at just the right speed
(real-time) – not too fast and not too slow
Typically an isochronous connection must allocate
resources on both ends to maintain real-time
USB and Firewire can both support isochronous

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 69
 Interface Standards
There are essentially two types of standards
Official standards
Created by standards-making organizations such as ITU
(International Telecommunications Union), IEEE
(Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers), EIA
(Electronic Industries Association), ISO (International
Organization for Standardization), and ANSI (American
National Standards Institute)
De facto standards
Created by other groups that are not official standards
but because of their widespread use, become “almost”
standards

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 70
Interface Standards (continued)
There are four possible components to an
interface standard:
Electrical component: deals with voltages, line
capacitance, and other electrical characteristics
Mechanical component: deals with items such as the
connector or plug description
Functional component: describes the function of each
pin or circuit that is used in a particular interface
Procedural component: describes how the particular
circuits are used to perform an operation

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 71
 Two Interface Standards

In order to better understand the four components

of an interface, let’s examine two interface
standards
EIA-232F – an older standard originally designed to
connect a modem to a computer
USB (Universal Serial Bus) – a newer standard that
is much more powerful than EIA-232F

72
 EIA-232F an early standard

Originally named RS-232 but has gone through

many revisions
The electrical component is defined by another
standard: V.28
The mechanical component is often defined by
ISO 2110, the DB-25 connector. The DB-9
connector is now more common than the DB-25.

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 73
 EIA-232F (continued)

The functional and procedural components are

defined by the V.24 standard
For example, V.24 defines the function of each of
the pins on the DB-9 connector

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 74
 EIA 232 Functional Definition

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 75
 Universal Serial Bus (USB)

The USB interface is a modern standard for

interconnecting a wide range of peripheral
devices to computers
Supports plug and play
Can daisy-chain multiple devices
USB 2.0 can support 480 Mbps (USB 1.0 is only
12 Mbps)
USB 3.0 can support 4.8 Gbps

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 76
 Universal Serial Bus (USB)

The USB interface defines all four components

The electrical component defines two wires VBUS
and Ground to carry a 5-volt signal, while the D+
and D- wires carry the data and signaling
information
The mechanical component precisely defines the
size of four different connectors and uses only
four wires (the metal shell counts as one more
connector)

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 77
 Universal Serial Bus (USB)
The functional and procedural components are
fairly complex but are based on the polled bus
The computer takes turns asking each peripheral if
it has anything to send
More on polling near the end of this chapter

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 78
 USB daisy chain

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 79
 USB type C

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 80
Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 81
 Some newer interface standards

FIREWIRE, FIBRECHANNEL,
INFINIBAND, SCSI, ETC

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 82
 FireWire (IEEE1394, Apple)
Low-cost digital interface
Capable of supporting transfer speeds of up to 800
Mbps
Hot pluggable
Supports two types of data connections:
Asynchronous connection
Isochronous connection

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 83
 InfiniBand and Fibre Channel
InfiniBand – a serial connection or bus that can carry
multiple channels of data at the same time
Can support data transfer speeds of 2.5 billion bits (2.5
gigabits) per second and address thousands of devices,
using both copper wire and fiber-optic cables
A network of high-speed links and switches
Fibre Channel – also a serial, high-speed network that
connects a computer to multiple input/output devices
Supports data transfer rates up to billions of bits per second,
but can support the interconnection of up to 126 devices
only

Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 84
85
 Fibre Channel Goals
Greater connectivity than
Full-duplex links with two
existing multidrops
fibers per link
channels
Performance from 100
Broad availability (i.e.,
Mbps to 800 Mbps on a
standard components)
single link (200 Mbps
to1600 Mbps per link) Support for multiple
cost/performance levels,
Support for distances up to
from small systems to
10 km
supercomputers
Small connectors
Ability to carry multiple
High-capacity utilization with existing interface
distance insensitivity command sets for
existing channel and
network protocols
86
 Disk Interfaces – ATA & SATA
ATA (AT Attachment)
ATA2: PIO, DMA. LBA (Logical Block Addressing)
ATA3, Ultra DMA/33/66/100/133
ATAPI (ATA Packet Interface): CDROM, TAPE
Only one device can be active at a time
Master-Slave
40-pin ribbon cable
SATA
Serial ATA
SATA-1 1.5Gbit/s, SATA-2 3Gbit/s, SATA-3 6GBit/s
 Disk Interfaces – ATA & SATA Interfaces

ATA interface and it’s cable

SATA interface and it’s cable

 Disk Interfaces – USB

IDE/SATA to USB
Converter
 SCSI and iSCSI
SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)
A technique for interfacing a computer to high-speed
devices such as hard disk drives, tape drives, CDs,
and DVDs
Designed to support devices of a more permanent
nature
SCSI is a systems interface
Need SCSI adapter
iSCSI (Internet SCSI)
A technique for interfacing disk storage to a computer
via the Internet

90
Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Sixth Edition 91
92
 Video Interfaces

Analog: Component, Composite Video, S-video, VGA/SVGA

Digital: DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort

 Interface Trends
New interfaces are continually being developed.
One focus of development is to increase the
speed at which interfaces allows the peripheral
and computer to communicate.
Another aim is to allow wireless communication
(chapter 2, Conducted and Wireless) between
peripheral devices and the CPU.
I/O consolidation competition: iSCSI,
FibreChannel and Infiniband
I/O CONSOLIDATION

95
96
 Why I/O Consolidation

More powerful CPU, multicore – multisocket

Server virtualization
High demand for I/O bandwidth
Reduction in cables, power
Limited number of interfaces
Current Competition:
iSCSI, FiberChannel over Ethernet, Infiniband
iSCSI and FCoE have better chance due to
Ethernet popularity (see next slides)

97
Virtual to Physical I/O connection
Ethernet Example
I/O CONSOLIDATION by SCSI
Thankyou